Ways to Keep Your House Safe

Keeping your house safe is one of the most challenging things in everyone’s life. So here are the ways in which you can keep your home safe.

Front Doors
•    External doors should be of solid construction - at least 44 mm thick and hinges should be strong.
•    Most newly built properties are fitted with a simple rim lock, also known as a 'night latch'. For satisfactory security levels, a five-lever mortice deadlock should be installed.
•    If the door is hollow, or too thin for a mortice lock, a quality rim deadlock should be installed using long, strong screws.
•    The deadlock is important because it means that the door is much more difficult to force open. Also, once the door has been locked with the key, the burglar won't be able to put his hand through the letterbox or through a panel and open the door from the outside. If he is in the house, he also won't be able to open the door which means he cannot use it to get out of the house with bulky items.
•    Deadlocks are also important in relation to doors with glazed panels which are inherently less secure than solid doors. You should consider replacing ordinary or toughened glass panels with laminated glass as this offers greater resistance.
•    Internal rack bolts at the top and bottom of the door provide additional security.
•    It is also important to consider fire safety issues when looking at security precautions. You may feel that you don't wish to use the mortice lock when you are in, as this will make it more difficult to get out of the house in the event of a fire. If this is the case, bolts at the top and bottom of the door are particularly useful.
•    It should be noted that it is generally not possible to add security features to UPVC/PVCU front doors after they have been installed, but they would usually incorporate appropriate locking mechanisms.
•    Before replacing any locks, see what your insurance policy states that you should have.
•    For additional security, fit a spy hole and door chain.
Back Doors
•    The back door should also be fitted with a five-lever mortice deadlock and have bolts at top and bottom.
•    Glass panels required to be fitted and laminated from the inside to prevent putty or beading being removed.


Padlocks for Outhouses
•    The most secure door padlock is the thing which is operated by a key which opens and shuts them. By contrast, spring-loaded ones can be quite easy to spring open. The best type is a close shackle padlock because there isn't enough room to insert an implement to lever it open. Buy padlock online for a competitive and affordable price range.
•    When fitting a padlock bar, coach bolts should be used rather than screws. If screws are used, they should be 'clutch-headed' or one-way screws which, once in, are almost impossible to remove.
•    Precisely what you can use will depend on the strength of the shed door and frame, i.e. it might not be possible to use the heaviest duty equipment, but there is a range of different types of products available.
Home security cannot be neglected at any cost. So be safe and keep your family safe by using all latest home security kits.